Keating: How I Relate To Malcolm Reed

Enterprise actor Dominic Keating recently revealed the ways he draws on his own experiences to relate to Malcolm Reed.

"I was talking about this the other day with my Mum on the phone. Malcolm Reed is basically me when I was 17 and about to join the army," he told Star Trek Monthly (via Scifi Pulse).

"I was a very keen cadet officer at my public school in England and so that's who he is. I went to visit the Scots Dragoon Guards in Germany for six weeks. I came back understanding that I quite liked playing at being in the army, but I didn’t really want it for real," he explained.

Keating went on to talk about the ways the role has changed him as an actor. "I think this was the first part I've had that quite frankly I couldn't hide behind much as an actor," he said. "Malcolm's this straight guy. He wasn't the 'Lord of Darkness' [Played by Keating in the 'Immortal']. He wasn't some camp bisexual ghost. The parts I've played, particularly in front of the camera here in America, have all been real character acting. For this, I had to suit up and bring Dominic as best I could on screen.

"Malcolm initially wasn't particularly funny - he was quite dry and just an Officer," he continued. "You had to be a man, if you will. All that sort of stacked up and I went, 'My god, am I enough to play the part?' I think most actors get that - ‘You mean it's just me? Oh my god, that wasn't enough!' A year later and I've got over quite a lot of that fear."

Much more from Dominic Keating, including his thoughts on heavy make-up and the atmosphere on the set can be found in the current issue of Star Trek Monthly, on sale now in the United Kingdom. Alternatively, a transcript can be found online here at Scifi Pulse.